Rosie just smiled. The sooner she was at school, the sooner it would be home time and she could persuade Gran to take her to the farm again. Or it felt that way anyway, even though she knew that really it didn’t make any difference how early she got there.
She’d made sure Mum bought ham for her sandwiches this week, and she’d begged for an extra yoghurt so she could save both sandwiches and not have her tummy rumbling all afternoon.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_7]
Luckily, Gran didn’t mind going to the farm again, and chatting with Mrs Bowen. Rosie ran ahead as they went down the lane that led past the farm, calling to her gran to hurry.
“I can’t walk any faster, Rosie,” said Gran. “You really do love those cats, don’t you?” She was frowning a little as she said it, but Rosie was thinking about whether the ginger kitten would remember her and didn’t notice.
It seemed to Rosie that the cats appeared more quickly this time when she sat down on the old tractor. Obviously they remembered her as the food person. The ginger kitten was the first to appear, his wide, white whiskers twitching with anticipation. Rosie wished he wasn’t so nervous of her, and that she could take him home and look after him. She crumbled the sandwich and scattered a few pieces around, hoping that again he’d be brave enough to come really close.
The kitten sniffed the air delightedly. More ham! And the others weren’t as brave as he was, so he could have most of it to himself. He was sure the girl wasn’t dangerous – shehad touched him last time, but very gently. It had been quite nice. He’d even let her stroke him again, if there was ham.
Rosie watched hopefully as he crept forward, and she held out a particularly yummy-looking piece of ham. The kitten nibbled it delicately, then bumped her hand with his forehead, as if to say thank you. Rosie held out her left hand with some more sandwich, and carefully rubbed behind his ears with the other.
The kitten looked up at her, still confused about why she wanted to stroke him like this, but not minding too much. He even purred, just a little. He was a bit itchy behind the ears, and she was rubbing exactly the right spot.
He finished the last of the sandwich and stared at Rosie, sniffing her fingers to see if more food would appear. When it didn’t, he yawned, showing a very pink tongue, and jumped on his little tabby sister’s tail, starting a kitten wrestling match.
[Êàðòèíêà: img_8]
Rosie watched them, giggling quietly to herself. They were so funny! Maybe tomorrow she would bring a piece of string for them to chase, she was sure they would like that.
The kittens suddenly scattered, and Rosie turned to see her gran coming out of the farmhouse and waving goodbye to Mrs Bowen. Gran looked a bit worried, and Rosie jumped up.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, as they headed for the gate into the lane.
Gran looked down at her, and sighed.“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for a while, Rosie,” she said. “Mrs Bowen is moving – she’s going to live with her son in the village. The farmhouse is a bit too big for her now she’s on her own.”
Rosie stared up at Gran in surprise. She couldn’t imagine the farm without Mrs Bowen. “Oh… So who’s going to live at the farm now?” she asked. “Is Mrs Bowen selling it?” Rosie looked back at the farm gate. There was no For Sale sign up.
“No…” Gran hesitated. “Well, yes, I suppose she is. The land has been sold to a developer – they’re going to knock down the farm buildings and put up some houses instead. Mrs Bowen signed the contract with them a little while ago, and she’s been gradually packing her things up and moving them over to her son’s house. She’s leaving the farm this week.”
Rosie gasped. It was all happening so quickly. Then a horrible thought struck her.“But Gran, what’s going to happen to the cats? They won’t stay around when the farm’s a building site! Where will they go?”
“It’s all right, Rosie,” Gran said soothingly, putting an arm round her shoulders. “Mrs Bowen’s asked the people from the Animal Rescue Centre in Wilmerton to rehome the cats. They’re going to come and collect them tomorrow, she told me. It’ll be much better for the cats, you know. They’ll check them over, and find proper homes for the kittens. As for the older cats, they’ll try and find someone with farm buildings or stables who’ll have them as outdoor cats, like they are here.”
[Êàðòèíêà: img_9]
Rosie nodded.“But I won’t see them any more,” she said sadly, her voice quivering. “Not even the little ginger kitten, and he was starting to like me, Gran, he really was. I … I even thought of trying to take him home, if I could persuade Mum…”
“I’m not surprised he liked you, considering you were feeding him all your sandwiches.” Gran smiled at her. “Mrs Bowen does have windows and I’m not blind, Rosie!”
“Oh.” Rosie looked up at Gran, her cheeks a little pink. “You won’t tell Mum, will you?” she asked.
